Just Another Adventure
by gurlygenes
Summary: After the final battle, Kagome experiences quite a few changes in her already complicated life. Once back in her era she meets none other than the YYH gang. But what? She knows some of them already? And naraku is dead so who is this enemy from the past? What does Sesshomaru have to do with anything? *OOCness NOT INU/KAG #set After YYH end/Alt ending for IY# (Poss. M for Future Ch)
1. Chapter 1

**So this is my first fic ever! Not to mention I decided to jump straight into a multi-chap crossover… so I might be slightly insane?! :D Nah. Anyways I own nothing that you recognize, hopefully you all think that this is an original-ish plot although I know there are A LOT of IY and YYH fics out there! **

**PS: THIS IS NOT AN INU/KAG FIC!**

**~~~~I HOPE YOU ENJOY!~~~~**

* * *

A young woman named Higurashi Kagome climbs out of an old decrepit well known as the Bone Eaters Well. She hauls a giant yellow backpack out with her. She takes a deep breath and then lets out a sigh.

"Tadaima, minna-san"she whispers under her breath.

"Welcome back, miko." She jumps and turns around at the cold voice. Standing there is none other than Lord Sesshōmaru of the Western Lands. "It is time to resume your training with this Sesshōmaru."

Kagome begins to giggle nervously, "B-but Fluffy-kun [Sesshōmaru's eye twitches at the nickname]… I just got back!" He just stares at the young woman blankly. They both silently stared at each other for a few moments when Kagome's eyes widen and she gasps with horror filled eyes as she points behind him, "Sesshōmaru, Rin tied Jaken up and is flying away on Ah-Un!"

The lord's eye twitched again, "Miko," he growled, "you remember that this Sesshōmaru is an inu-taiyoukai that can _smell lies_ correct?" Another twitch. "Not to mention that this one's ward is taking a nap and Jaken is on an errand for me."

Kagome had the decency to blush, as she had forgotten that little fact in her desperation. "Hehehe… YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!" She shouts as she takes off with what she thought was great speed. She got maybe 5 feet before running into a solid chest.

"Miiikkoooo…" She looks up into narrowed amber eyes. "Cease this stupidity and give in with a modicum of dignity."

A waterfall of tears run down said miko's face, puppy-dog eyes on full blast "But Sesshōmaru! Can't we at least wait until tomorrow? It's my 18th birthday today!" She continued to whine, causing a constant twitch to occur with the inu-youkai's eye.

He growled lowly, causing Kagome to stop her incessant complaints. "This Sesshōmaru will-"

"It's just us you can stop using third person ya know…"

"_Kagome do not interrupt me!_" silence. "Now as thi- as _I_ was saying, I will come retrieve you an hour after daybreak to begin training you, then the monk will train you, followed by the slayer and then the undead miko" This last being said with a grimace on his face, she still couldn't get over the smell of death and graveyard soil that emanated from his brother's chosen mate.

"HAI! ARIGATOU FLUFFY-NII-CHAN!" This time both his eye and hands twitch at the nickname. He then stiffens as Kagome tackles him in a hug, refusing to let go until he pats her back in a semblance of a hug. She leans back with her arms still around him, "will you stay to celebrate with me?"

_ Damn those puppy-dog eyes_ the stoic lord thought to himself. "… Hai imouto, I will stay for a little while." Her responding smile, so full of joy and innocence even with all she's been through cause a slight grin to form on Sesshōmaru's lips. The girl then grasps his hand and takes off towards the village of Edo where the rest of her rag-tag family awaited her arrival.

Once she was within sight of the village she heard a shout, "MOMMA! YOU'RE BACK!" she was then pounced upon by a ball of orange hair. She hugged her kit tightly and kissed him on the top of his head.

"Hello Shippō. I missed you!"

"I missed you too Momma! C'mon everyone's waiting!"

* * *

The three of them entered Kaede's hut and were greeted with shouts of hellos and happy birthday wishes. "Thanks guys! How has everyone been?" The group then sat and talked for a while about anything and everything. Their entire group was there, including Kikyo.

When Inuyasha had brought her back to the group to join them, the first thing that happened was she had attacked Kagome, who by that time was already being trained by Sesshy, Miroku, and Sango with occasional training from Kaede.

***FLASHBACK***

"Die Incarnation!" the dead miko shouted as she drew her bow back with an arrow already charged with dark energy. She released the arrow but was shocked when the young miko dodged it with ease.

"Now Kikyo-chan, that wasn't very nice." Kagome stated with a cold glare. Then she paused as she realized something that she hadn't seen previous to all of the spiritual training she had been receiving. _She has a tainted shard in the back of her neck. No wonder she's been such a bitch, after all that I had heard about her when she was alive something didn't add up._ While she was contemplating her next move, Kikyo got over her shock and shot another arrow at the distracted girl.

"HIRAIKOTSU" came a yell before the large boomerang intercepted the arrow.

Before the taijiya could attack the undead miko she heard "Sango-chan." The taijiya paused mid throw. "I need you and Miroku-kun to hold back Inuyasha."

"But-"

"Please." Sango hesitated before nodding and getting the monk's attention, telling him the plan for restraining the hanyou. As one they grabbed Inuyasha's arms, but they were having trouble holding him still until a giant stone statue landed on his back rendering him immobile. "Thank you Shippō, now be good for mommy and stay with Sango and Miroku."

The fox kit smiled proudly at having helped. "Okay Momma!" he chirped happily.

Slowly the two mikos began to circle each other looking for an opening to attack, one looking to kill, the other looking to heal. Finally Kikyo grew impatient and charged forward with her bow humming with power since arrows were not working. Kagome took advantage of this by spinning on her heel as the other woman got close enough, twirling to the side. Kikyo could not stop her charge in time and went right past Kagome who then delivered a high-kick to the back of her neck, knocking the woman unconscious. _Thank you Fluffy for the training_. Unkown to said youkai, this is when that infernal nick-name became a habit to the young miko.

Suddenly she was brought out of her heartfelt thanks by a loud yelling, "WENCH WHAT DID YOU DO TO KIKYO! LET ME UP YA BRAT, I NEED TO HELP KIKYO! OI I SAID-"

"Sit boy." *CRASH* "… Ah sweet silence."

The observers still standing guard over the now unconscious Inuyasha each sweat-dropped at the smug miko. After a second of them all staring at each other Kagome snapped her fingers. "Oh right! I guess I should explain!" Nods came from Sango and Miroku while Shippō laughed at his mother's antics. "Well thanks to all the training that the hentai ("Hey I resent that accusation!" *Grope* *SLAP* "Hands to yourself HENTAI HOUSHI") and Kaede have been giving me, I realized that Kikyo has a tainted shard in her neck." Kagome didn't even bat an eye at her friend's by-play.

Sango gasped while Miroku (with a red handprint on his cheek) asked, "why do you think you are only now able to sense it?"

"Well, if I had to guess I would say that her own miko-Ki was covering up the aura of the jewel, or that the jewel was tainting her aura so badly that they became almost, but not quite, identical in feel with the little experience I had before!" Miroku 'hmmm'ed and then nodded satisfied with the answer. "Anyways, I figured that this might be why she has been such a bi- (glances at Shippō) big jerk. So I figured that if I could get her to stay still long enough I could purify it and then we will go from there."

"Sounds like a plan Kagome-chan" stated Sango while Miroku nodded his agreement.

"Alright, let's just hope that I'm done before Inu-baka wakes up again!" They all chuckled before Kagome became serious and sat down by the unconscious miko. She placed her hands over the back of her neck and closed her eyes. Soon her hands began to glow pink and after a couple of minutes she sighed and stood up. "Well now that that's done let's get them back to the hut. Sango will you call for Kirara, I hate to cut her hunting time short though, but I don't think any of us wants to carry them back…?"

"Sure Kag-chan" *WHISTLE* off in the distance they could hear the neko-youkai's answering roar and moments later she flew into the clearing and nuzzled up next to her mistress before meowing cutely.

***END FLASHBACK***

After that they took the two unconscious lovers back to Kaede's and waited for them to wake up. After a few hours Kikyo woke up and there was an immediate change in the way she was acting. She profusely thanked Kagome and told her that it would be okay to take the shard out and that it wouldn't cause her to pass on, not yet. So they had gained yet another shard and Naraku had lost yet another puppet. When Inuyasha woke up it was one of the most heartwarming scenes that the group had ever seen. The two of them went outside and sat talking for hours and fell asleep together under a tree on the edge of the forest with Kikyo setting a barrier around them for protection.

Kagome noticed that without the taint of the shard, Kikyo's miko-Ki was a gentle blue color. They went through with the mating ceremony not long after that, and Kagome could honestly say she was happy for the two of them. Not long after Kikyo's resurrection by Urasue Kagome realized that she didn't love Inuyasha in a romantic sense. She would always think of him as her first hero, but what she had for him was a young girl's crush on an imaginary white knight. They definitely had more of a brother-sister relationship, what with all of the arguing and fighting.

Kagome was abruptly brought out of her reminiscing by a hand on her shoulder. "Miko, I need to leave but I shall be back in the morning… do try to rest some, I would hate for you to not have the proper energy for our training tomorrow." Kagome decided then and there that she did _not_ like the sadistic grin her Aniki was wearing. He squeezed her shoulder and then was gone in the blink of an eye.

Next thing Kagome knew, sake was being passed around since the 'responsible stick-up-the-asses' (Kaede, Kikyo, and Sesshy) were either gone for the night or gone to bed. Kagome had never drank before so she decided to have a little fun… what was the worst thing that could happen?

* * *

Kagome woke up the next morning with a pounding headache, wondering what had woken her up. Ahhh… Inuyasha had kicked her in the side… it was then she realized that her, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippō, and Kirara were all in a jumble on the floor, the teens having finally passed out after having too much to drink. She tried to remember what had happened the night before while gathering her bathing items, noticing that it was just past dawn she wanted to soak for a while before Sesshy came for their session. As she relaxed in a nearby hot spring images from last night began to come forth until she had a solid memory.

***FLASHBACK***

The teens were outside, wasted beyond belief, when they decided to play hide-n-go-seek. Kagome was it and was currently wading through tall grass looking for her best hanyou friend, as she had already found the others who were back at the hut drinking yet more alcohol. She slowly crept through the waist high grass when she saw two fluffy ears sticking out above the top of the grass. In a moment of drunken clarity… *cough cough* she picked up a fist sized rock and sang to herself "Gotta catch 'em alllll…. POK-E-MON!" and threw the rock right between the middle of the ears. *THUNK* *CRASH* "I caught a doggy Pokémon! YAY!" and proceeded to drag the now unconscious Inuyasha back to the hut by his legs, a large bump forming on his head, all the while giggling obscenely. Once she made it back inside she dropped his legs and joined with the others finishing off what was left of the sake. A few slaps to an extremely drunk hentai monk later and they all passed out where they were sitting, the children coming back from playing outside snuggling up with the older teens.

***END FLASHBACK***

She groaned, hoping that none of the others would realized how Inu got the head injury… *sigh*

She finished washing up, feeling much better by the end of her bath. She got out and dried off before getting dressed in the clothes she was going to train in, and headed back to the hut, knowing Sesshōmaru would show up soon.

Not thirty some-odd minutes later, Lord Fluffy did indeed show up, raising one of his perfect eyebrows at the rest of the still unconscious group, the two children already having woken up and eating their breakfast. He gave an inelegant snort that he still managed to make look like the most sophisticated action. _How does he do that?_ Was Kagome's random thought for the morning.

"Ready Miko?"

"Hai Fluffy-kun." He sighed and Kagome would have sworn that she saw him roll his eyes. Shaking her head she turned to the two children and told them that once they finished eating they should go find Kikyo or Kaede.

"Can we come watch you train Momma?" She looked at Sesshy to see what he thought about it. He thought for a moment before deciding that since they were only working on the physical part of fighting, with the focus on close range combat with swords, the children shouldn't be at any risk of his poison or her miko powers getting out of control.

He nodded. They waited for Shippō and Rin to finish eating before going to a clearing nearby.

"Don't hold back Aniki." Kagome stated seriously. He nodded with a grim smile and attacked without warning.

* * *

They practiced for a couple of hours until Sesshōmaru was satisfied with the progress that Kagome had made. He allowed her a 15 minute break before passing her off to the monk who then spent the next couple of hours helping her focus by meditating and learning how to perfect her o-fudas, o-mamoris, and sacred sutras in general. After he approved of her work, he let Sango take over. Sango let her have another 10 reprieve before training her in long range combat using weapons such as the hiraikotsu, throwing knives, a chain scythe, these being the main focus. The last session of her day was done with Kikyo. The undead miko helped her learn new ways to use her miko-ki to their full extent, helping her with her barrier creating, forming her Ki into a ball of energy that she can shoot out and have explode on demand, pushing the Ki into certain muscles to temporarily increase strength or speed, and even her healing abilities. She had already learned all she could about herbs from Kaede.

Her days repeated this schedule for weeks until Shippō realized something. "Momma, why haven't you gone home recently?"

"Well sweetheart, I told my family that I wouldn't be able to come back until after we finished this for good."

"Oh. Okay, I was just curious Momma."

"That's alright kit, I understand." She smiled and took the brief interlude between training sessions to tell Shippō, and Rin when she was there, all about her family and time.

Never once did she or any of her companions sense the gold eyes watching from the surrounding trees, nor did they notice when a pair of black eyes joined the other ones.

* * *

**So what did you all think? I will take any kind of review, even flames though I may not respond back to you, but what I really look forward to is CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM! Even if you think you are being harsh, send it my way!**

**My posting is NOT DEPENDENT ON REVIEWS, although they would be greatly appreciated! I have quite a few chapters planned/plotted as of right now, but who knows how many chapters ill end up with out of those alone, considering I was planning A LOT more for this chap, but alas my fingers got carried away! They will be put up as I finish them!**

**Can't Wait to hear from you!**

**~GG**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to all of the favorites, follows, and the review!**

**Gooberdee: I'm glad you were laughing that hard cause my family was looking at me like I lost my mind from all of the giggling I was doing! I seriously don't know what came over me… maybe it was the coffee? XD**

**So I just thought I should give fair warning that Kags won't be in the modern era for a few chappies, I will give a heads up when that about to happen! ON WITH THE STORY!**

**DISCLAIMER: Believe me if I owned any of these stories 1) I wouldn't have a job cause I would have all the money I wanted and 2) Sesshy would be my personal space heater 24/7!**

* * *

"You will have to be faster than that miko." Sesshōmaru said as he dodged a swipe of Kagome's sword.

"Well maybe you should just slow down" the miko complained under her breath. She followed up with a side swipe aimed at the dog lord's middle. Her blade caused a cut onto Sesshy's clothing to appear. "HAH finally I hit _something!_"

"That's enough for today Kagome. You have improved much over time."

"AWW was that a compliment Fluffy-sama!?"

"Hn. I never said you were good, just that you have improved."

"Aaaand, you ruined the moment…" Kagome sighed and went to say something else when Sesshōmaru held his hand up.

"I smell blood." Kagome immediately dropped her playful attitude.

"Do you recognized who it belongs to?" Shesshomaru thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"No. But I can tell that there are two of them bleeding. Yōkai."

"Which direction?" He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. "What?"

"Must we help _every_ creature that you encounter?" She rolled her eyes at him and stood there expectantly. *Sigh* "This way miko." He then started walking off into the forest.

"KA-GO-ME"

"This one knows that, _miko_." Now it was Kagome's turn to sigh. She decided to drop it, knowing that eventually he would go back to using her name.

"Lead the way _Milord_" she heard his growl up ahead. "Oh fine I was just kidding."

The rest of their walk was spent in comforting silence. Then they came upon two bodies lying in pools of blood. Thinking they were at the very least unconscious, Kagome walked towards them to see where the blood was coming from. As she walked closer, she studied them, noticing that one of them had her major weakness on his head. _OH THOSE EARS!_ Her fingers twitch with the need to fondle them. The one with the ears had gorgeous silver hair, what silver you could see that is, while the other had midnight black hair, without the blue sheen seen on Kagome's head. Once she was about a foot away, she heard a vicious growl coming from the bodies' direction.

In as soothing as a voice she could muster, "Ano, I just want to help you, not hurt you further."

A sliver topped head lifted up and with a smooth voice, belying the pain they must be in, said "why should we trust a _ningen…_ a miko at that?"

"Well I am not like most mikos. In fact my companion here could attest to that, ne Lord Sesshōmaru?" Let it be said that even Kagome knew when to use formal titles.

"Sesshōmaru? As in Lord of the Western Lands? Why would he be here with a miko?"

"That is none of your concern, Fox."

"Oh, you are a fox yōkai? My kit would love to meet you!... can I touch your ears?" silence was met with this inquiry.. "ano… maybe another time?" At this point the black haired male roused himself from unconsciousness and all three males stared at the lone female like she was insane.

*Sigh* "Miko, I think you stunned them into speechlessness." ("Hmph, it's not like I asked them to get naked and sing campfire songs…") "This Sesshōmaru ensures that the miko will not harm you unless you attack first. Even then she would most likely try to talk to you as you attempt to take her head."

"Oh come on! I'm not _that_ bad!" He just stared at her. "Okay, point taken."

The two on the ground finally got over their shock enough to begin talking to each other. "Kuronue, I think that the miko may not contain all of her faculties, to talk to _the_ Lord Sesshōmaru."

"Why I do believe you are right Youko… Think we should make a run for it?"

*cough cough* "The _miko_ is right here. And I object to the presumption that I am insane. I will heal you one way or another, either cooperate or I will knock you out and drag you back to the village."

Kuronue and Youko looked at each other at sweat dropped. Youko spoke up, "Why do you want to help us so badly? You know nothing about us, we could have gotten these wound attempting to slaughter an entire village."

"Somehow I doubt that. Either way you can tell us, (*growl*) oh fine, me about while I get you patched up." The two yōkai looked at one another before both nodded at her.

"Assistance would be greatly appreciated cute little miko-chan." Youko said.

"Ka-go-me is my name, use it." This was almost growled out with a blush at being called cute.

"Alright…. _Kagome-chan_" the fox all but purred as he said her name. The young girl now resembled a tomato. She begin grumbling under her breath as she heals the two until they are able to move on their own. Some of the wound are so deep and covered in dirt and other unpleasant things, that she wants to get those treated with medicine before taking care of them. Not to mention some wounds look like they had poison in them.

"Well I want to get you back to Kaede's to finish healing you.. Can you walk on your own?" They stood up, although unsteady on their feet, and motioned for her to lead the way. As they slowly made their way back to the village, Sesshōmaru growled out just low enough for the yōkai to hear, "Do not even think of harming or robbing from this one's imouto, _Youko Kurama_." Then he went to walk next to his self-claimed little sister.

The two yōkai stared with open mouths before beginning a hushed conversation that only the two of them could hear. "Oh dear, he knows who I am… wait the Ice Prince claims a human girl, a miko at that as a sister? Kuronue my curiosity has been peaked."

"Not that it takes much you damned Fox."

"Shut up you fruit bat."

"I am _not a fruit bat_"

"oh calm down…. You can't say that you aren't curious as well."

"Hmph… oh alright yes I am curious. And why would a miko heal yōkai?"

"There is another thing.. did you notice when she said her 'kit' would love to meet me? I assume that she means a fox kit, and why would she know one not to mention claim one as her own. Curious."

"Well, we'll have to find out once we get where we are going, won't we?" After a nod to the other, both of them fell into silence while trying to figure out the confusing creature known as Kagome that was prattling on about random things to the Ice Prince of the West. _Very curious_ they thought at the same time.

* * *

Back in the village, Shippō and Rin were playing in a field when Shippō suddenly stopped and took off in the opposite direction. "MOMMA!" he yells as he launched himself at Kagome. Rin runs up and hugs the woman around her waist.

"Hi Kagome-nee-chan! Rin picked flowers for you with Shippō-kun! Do you like them?"

"Oh they are very pretty Rin-chan, why don't you show them to Sesshōmaru-sama?"

"Sesshōmaru-sama! You're back! Rin missed you!" she practically squealed with happiness as she left the flowers forgotten in favor of hugging him. He placed a hand on her head causing her to look up. Although none of the muscles in his face moved at all, his amber eyes warmed up considerable looking at the child he thought of as his own. She gave a joyous smile before letting go of him.

Kagome waited for the moment to be over before signaling to Rin. "Rin-chan will you go ask Kaede to gather these herbs and let her know that I am bringing two injured yōkai to the hut?" When the little girl nodded her assent, Kagome named off a few herbs and then patted the girl on the head before she ran off. "Now what were you and Rin-chan doing while we were gone Shippō?" at this, Shippō put on an innocent façade and smiled at his mother. She wasn't fooled at all.

"We just played that's all Momma… I swear!"

"Uh-huh… I'm sure that's it. Just one question, is Inuyasha going to come barging in yelling while I am taking care of my patients?" Shippō gave a sly smile.

"No Momma. He won't be able to get down for a while. Any time now her should-"

"YOU BRAT GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!"

"There it is! Momma, I made the best trap ever! I made a net out of spider silk that I bribed Jaken to get and put it under Inubaka's favorite tree! He's stuck until Kikyō gets back and lets him down and she isn't supposed to be back for a couple of hours yet!" Kagome tried to put on a stern face but it cracked and she began laughing with her kit joining in. Even Sesshy cracked a grin, though it was gone before anyone noticed. The two new comers looked on with faces full of astonishment as they continued to follow the little family. Shippō stopped laughing when he realized there were yōkai he didn't recognize following his mother. He jumped onto her shoulder and growled out "Are you here to hurt my Momma? I won't let you!" he bared his fangs and claws until Kagome took him off of her shoulder back into her arms.

"Now now Shippō, they are here to be healed, not to fight." This seemed to placate the young child and he curled up into her arms with a content sigh. She hummed until he relaxed all of the way. They walked on in silence until they arrived at a hut, which an old woman with an eye patch stepped out of.

"Welcome back Child. These are the one's young Rin told me about that ye are going to heal?"

"Hai Kaede, they are. May we use your hut?"

"Aye, I have everything prepared for ye already laid out." She stepped aside as she said, "I need to go check on Aya-san, ye know that she is due any day now. Send for me if ye need anything before I come back."

"Thanks Kaede! Tell Aya-chan I said hi!" The woman just nodded with a smile as she left. Kagome motioned for Kuronue and Youko to precede her into the hut. Once they got settled, Kagome looked towards Youko and Kuronue and introduced her son to them. "This is my son, Shippo. Shippo this is Youko and Kuronue, Sesshōmaru-sama and I found them while we were training."

Shippō's eyes widened until Kagome was sure they were just going to fall out of his head. "Momma… this is THE Youko Kurama and Kuronue! Wow! Nice to meet you! I haven't seen another fox wince my parent's died, and to see THE Youko Kurama and his partner is just awesome!"

"Oh these are the master thieves you told me about sweetheart? Well isn't that exciting! Why don't you go tell Rin about it while I help them get better?"

"Okay Momma!" he runs out the door as he continues talking excitedly, "Rin is going to be blown away!"

Kagome turns to look at the two newly identified men with a contemplative look in her eyes. "Well I am sure it is safe to assume you were injured on a job?" At this their eyes darken and the atmosphere around becomes thick with anger. "Ah well, you can tell us about it after we get you healed up."

Youko looks at her, "You still are willing to heal us knowing who and what we are? Are you not afraid that we will steal from you or anyone here?"

She looked at them and shrugged, "No one in this village has anything of value to steal, and even if we did according to Shippo, you do it for the challenge and the thrill that you get… neither of which you would get here, and even if you could I would still heal you."

"why?"

"Because, that is who I am. If I can help someone even in the slightest of ways, I will. Now get over here so that I can apply some medicine and bandages."

* * *

After Kagome finished healing them, they sat and talked for a while. Sesshōmaru just sat leaning against a wall with his eyes closed not taking part in the conversation. They two thieves explained how they were betrayed by one of their followers on this last job. The betrayer had gone to the mark's mansion and warned them of the impending robbery in exchange for gold. They had the traps in place for when Kuronue and Youko got there, causing the massive injuries they had received.

"If we weren't extremely skilled with our reflexes, we would have died for sure. They underestimated how quickly we would respond to the sound of spears and arrows flying out of the wall." Youko chuckles flatly as he says this.

Kuronue picks up from there, "We had no direction in mind when we finally escaped from there. We happened upon where you found us merely by chance, between the poison and blood loss we just couldn't keep going. Lucky such a cute ojou-chan found us, ne Youko?" he gives Kagome a lecherous grin.

She smiles sweetly at him and with a voice that could freeze the blood in his veins says, "Don't even think about it. If you do I'll tell sesshōmaru-sama, after all I'm under his protection." Kuronue looks over at said Lord and almost had heart failure at the absolutely frigid glare aimed his way. He swallows thickly and looks at Kagome nervously. He mumbles an apology and then hangs his head like a child that just got reprimanded. She laughs and forgives him, but Sesshōmaru continued to give him a death glare.

To try to break the sudden tension, Youko asks Kagome, "Why do you raise Shippo as your own? Where are his parents?" Before Kagome could answer, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo walked in, followed by an irate Inuyasha who was being restrained by Kikyō. Chaos ensued.

"OI wench who the hell are they? They better not be here for the jewel shards!" Kikyō smacks him right upside the head right before Kagome says "Sit boy!" *crash* "Don't call me wench, you know my name use it!"

Miroku sidled up to Kagome's side and asked calmly, "Not that I am encouraging Inuyasha's atrocious behavior, but maybe introductions would be wise?"

Sango walked up on Miroku's other side, "Unfortunately I agree with the houshi." Kagome looked as though she was going to reply when both Sango's and her face went red with anger.

At the same time they screamed "HENTAI!" *smack* *bang* the now floored monk had a handprint on each side of his face but a decidedly self-satisfied smirk graced his lips.

During all of this Shippo and Rin were bombarding Youko and Kuronue with questions. Miroku then takes a good look at the silver fox before crawling over there and sitting in front of him. "My beautiful lady, would you do me the honor of bearing my children?" Kagome and Kuronue both fall down anime-style and proceed to laugh their asses off.

Youko gives a chilling glare to Miroku before stating coldly, "I am a male." Miroku sweat dropped and rubbed the back of his head.

"Apologies my good sir… Would you happen to have a sister you could introduce me to?" More laughter is heard from the two bodies on the floor. Once Kagome gets her breath back, she rescues Miroku from the beating he is receiving from the decidedly pissed off silver fox and proceeds to get everyone's attention. Once that is done she gives introductions.

* * *

Later while everyone is eating dinner, with Youko and Kuronue still their trying to satisfy their raging curiosity, Kuronue unknowingly asks a question that changes the previously happy atmosphere drastically. "Earlier the hanyō mentioned jewel shards? Is he talking about the Shikon Jewel shards we have been hearing about for the past few years?"

All of the inu gang stiffen up and guardedly looked at the two guests. Youko held his hands up and stated calmly, "We have no use for the shards, after all strength gained by them is a false strength. Unreliable. If you do carry these shards, have no fear of us, we will not try to take them." Immediately the tension drops to a much more comfortable level, although the only ones that completely relaxed were Kagome and the children.

"Well I guess I should just explain from the beginning? Alright so it all started with me stumbling upon Inuyasha pinned to the Goshinboku…" She proceeds to tell them everything except that she is from the future and can go back and forth using the well. The two guests sat there in complete shock as this young woman conveys all of the problems and challenges she has had to face.

"So everyone in your group has tried to kill you or stole from you at least once? Amazing that you are still alive with your forgiving nature." Youko stated plainly. Kagome laughs and smiles a bright smile.

"Yes everyone says that, but if I didn't forgive those that I have I would definitely be dead by now. And so would a lot of others. It is in my nature to forgive, but that doesn't mean I don't remember. Although I hold no ill will towards most that have wronged me I sometimes look back upon our first meetings so that I can see how much they have changed."

Kuronue just looks at her for a moment before exclaiming, "You have either got to be the kindest soul there is or the most naïve. And yet I am sure no one would want you any other way…" At that moment Youko and Kuronue decided that this would be the first human to gain their respect and loyalty, although said human had no idea of the two powerful allies she just gained.

* * *

Youko and Kuronue stayed with the group for about a week, helping with Kagome'e training periodically before they decided to attempt another heist. Throughout that week they saw just how loving Kagome was especially towards her kit, but also to random strangers. By the end of the week they felt as if they understood the mysterious young woman just a little better, especially once they found out about her time travelling, and they soon considered her to be like a sister to them. One who they wanted to protect and shelter from the evils of the world, regardless of how many times she had already faced such evil.

On the day they were leaving they told her that they would come and visit at least once a week, but that she had to be sure to call for them before the final battle as they wanted to be there.

"Why?" Kagome asked.

They both pulled her into a hug and whispered into her ears, "Because, imouto-chan, why would we leave you under the protection of the mutt? Yes his older brother is a good protector but the hanyō, really?"

"HEY YOU BASTAR-" "SIT BOY!" *crash*

She then hugged them back and simply said, "See you soon Kuro nii-chan, Youko nii-chan."

* * *

**Admittedly that was a little fluffy at the end but ahh well. So another chapter up! Its going the way I want it to so far, but what do yall think about it?**

**For those of you who were hoping it was going to be a youko/kurama x kagome sorry to disappoint! Although its not obvious right now, it will be in later chapters who she is going to end up with! If you absolutely have to know though send me a guess of who you think it is and ill tell you yes or no! And most everybody is going to end up with somebody so you can send guesses on any pairing. I will hopefull have the chapter up either later tonight or tomorrow but it will be Monday night at the latest!**

**Hope you like it so far!**

**~GG**


	3. Chapter 3

**So I would just like to throw a thank you to Gooberdee and Guest for the review! They both guessed on two people each for the pairing with kagome, and both of them guessed the right one! (although I did not say which one it was! XD ) and Guest: I can honestly say that even with my planning out the chapters, that is one detail I have not quite decided on yet, but I am leaning towards YES right now! It will be coming up soon though!**

**So I just realized something that I didn't include in my other head/foot notes… If anyone sees something that I have just blatantly screwed up PLEASE let me know as I hate making stupid mistakes.. am I perfect? No. But I would rather not come off as an idiot even though I sometimes act like one! :) ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: Do you know how much it costs to own these lovely series? Yeah well neither do I cause I wouldn't be able to afford it anyways.**

* * *

They had been wandering around going from village to village, helping those in need while looking for any information on Naraku. Sesshōmaru had messengers coming and going relaying any information they had heard to him. The only shards left were the little less than half of the jewel Kagome held, the one in Kohaku's back, the two in Koga's legs, and the half that Naraku possessed.

*plop* "Ugh…" Kagome exclaimed as they walked towards through yet another forest. "I swear to KAMI THAT IF ANOTHER BUG DROPS ON ME I WILL FLIP OUT!"

"Hold still Momma, I'll get it" Shippō told her from her shoulder.

"Feh, bugs falling on your head is the most excitement we've had for a week." Inuyasha mocked.

"Oh you are looking for excitement Inu?" asked Kagome with an evil, conniving look in her eye. "Why don't you-"

Whatever she was going to say was interrupted as a familiar head of silver hair dropped down from a nearby tree.

"Youko Nii-san! How did you find us?"

"Ahh… well actually Kagome, I wasn't looking for you… Not that I'm not happy to see you!" he exclaimed when he noticed her smile dimming. "Me and Kuronue just got done with a particularly tricky job and came to rest in this forest. Well once we got here, we encountered the oddest fruit bat, and he won't leave Kuro alone, it is actually quite entertaining! *chuckles* However its voice was annoying me so I… ah… well quite frankly I abandoned Kuronue to the things mercy."

"Youko Kurama that is not nice! Kuro Nii-san might kill the poor thing, and it's not like the bat was harming either of you, was he?"

"Well no, but Imouto, his voice is painful to the ears, even if my ears weren't sensitive already it would make me want to cut them off! There is a reason there aren't that many fruit bats around."

"Why is that?"

"Most yōkai kill them as soon as they open their mouths. Their voices are the things of nightmares, one of the only things that can successfully scare yōkai younglings into obedience. Threaten a child with being locked in a room alone with a fruit bat for even 10 minutes and they will jump to do your bidding."

"It can't be all that bad! Plenty of people have annoying voices… take Inuyasha for example" ("OI you bitc-") "SIT."

She was surprised when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head slightly and almost wet her pants from the face Sesshōmaru was making. It was one of absolute horror. "Imouto, this one can assure you, it is a torture that even this Sesshōmaru would not use on any of his enemies except for maybe Naraku. This one experienced the voice of a fruit bat as a pup… locked in a room for an entire hour… I would have killed it had my mother not chained my hands to the chair… horrifying." Youko was looking at Sesshy with a pained look on his face while Sesshy was looking off into the distance.

"The one following Kuronue has the worst voice out of all the ones I have ever heard before. I was going to kill it but it following Kuro was too amusing to pass up."

Sesshōmaru's head snapped around to face him, a look of absolute terror on his face, "You left it _alive?_ Do you not realize that the cursed bat is probably following you, with that _thing_ following him? Imouto I will be back tomorrow… make sure the _thing is gone_." And without another word, the Great Lord of the Western Lands took off with his tail between his legs. Jaken barely had time to grab on to his MokoMoko. "Look after Rin for me."

The rest of the gang was filled with dread, minus Inu, who was an idiot, and Youko, who already knew why. How horrible must this monster be for Sesshōmaru to take off like that?

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Kuronue appears beside Youko. "You damn Fox, I can't believe you left me alone with that thing."

Youko sneered "At least tell me you got rid of that thing."

Silence.

"Kuro-nii… you didn't let it follow you did you?" kagome nervously asked.

Silence.

Suddenly, "Come back little bat! Baldok wants to be your friend! Baldok likes bats, he is a bat himself! Haldok want to introduce you to his other little bat friends! Come baaaack!" The entire group cringes at hearing the annoying voice. Kuronue just has a grin on his face.

"But dear partner, how could I keep such a friendly being to myself? I am sure he would love to be friends with a beauty such as yourself."

Youko glares at his partner in crime as he cringes at the voice of the fruit bat, now known as Baldok. "Dear Kami you are evil."

An odd looking being jumps out of the trees from the same direction the gang is guessing Kuro came from. He was covered in bruises from head to toe with several cuts as well. He grinned maniacally as he looked at Kuro, "There is Baldok's little bat! Little bat was not so nice when he was hitting Baldok but, oh but he has such annoying creatures surrounding him! Did little bat bring food for Baldok as an apology? The human girls look especially tasty! Thank you little bat friend!" Baldok then proceeds to creep towards Kagome who makes a disgusted noise in the back of her throat as she hides behind Kuro.

"Make it go away Kuro!"

Kuro sighed, "I tried… no matter what I did he just would not stay down… he is actually quite creepy. He says he wants me to stay with him in this forest but well…" he gets a curious light in his eye as he pulls Kagome in front of him. "Hey fruity, I can't stay with you! This little girl has control of my heart so I just can't bear to leave her!" He then proceeds to cuddle with Kags and makes these odd cooing noises at her. Baldok looks like he is about to say something until Kuro interrupts him, "Maybe I should mention she is a miko… what do you think Youko?"

Youko catches on quickly, "Oh yes Kuro, you should definitely mention that, also how many yōkai she has gotten rid of! Oh don't forget about her big brother, he is scary as well! *cough* (whisper: even though he ran away like a scared puppy) *cough*"

Baldok looks interested and horrified despite himself, "Miko!? Baldok sorry little miko, he did not know… Baldok curious to know who little miko's brother is though…?"

Kuronue and Youko get shit-eating grins on their face and at the same time, "Lord Sesshōmaru of the Western Lands."

Baldok lost what little color he had in his already pale skin. "That fruit bat killing dog is her big brother? Baldok very sorry little miko, little bat, he will not bother you again!" The weird yōkai then took off into the surrounding forest with great haste. His voice drifted back to them however, "Please tell dog that Baldok left you alone, yes he did! Baldok be nice to you if he ever see you again!"

The clearing was silent before the entire group burst out laughing. With tears streaming down her face, Kagome chokes out, "You know, we have had a lot of weird encounters over the years, but that one takes the cake!"

Once the group calms down, they decide to make camp where they are and wait for Sesshōmaru to come back before moving on.

Right before they fall asleep, Kagome smirks as snarks at Inuyasha, "Was that enough excitement for you Inu? ("Feh") Be careful what you wish for!"

* * *

The next morning came, and when Kagome woke up, she noticed that Sesshy was already back and sitting with his back leaning against a tree. Contrary to appearances, she knew that he was awake. One by one the rest of the group woke up and began packing up the camp. There was an unspoken agreement, upheld by the threatening aura surrounding the Dog Lord, that no one would mention his hasty retreat the day before.

* * *

Miles away in a castle that no one can ever track down 

"Kanna, show me the miko in your mirror." A cold voice demanded.

"Hai, Naraku-sama." A child, looking no older than 8 held up a small circular mirror that had an intricate and delicate looking frame around it. As the evil hanyō looked into it, he saw the entire group cleaning up their camp, ready to move for the day.

"*evil laugh* Oh little miko, soon you and your jewel shards will be in my possession. Very soon. KOHAKU!"

"Yes Naraku-sama?" a boy of 13 seemingly separated from the shadows.

"Would you like to go say hello to your dear sister and the rest of that useless group? Looks like that bitch Kikyō is there as well… Go and retrieve the miko Kagome and her part of the jewel."

Blank eyes stared back at the spider hanyō, "As you wish, Naraku-sama." And melted back into the shadows.

_It's time, nee-chan._

* * *

#Back with the group#

After a few more days of travel, with no new news on Naraku, Sesshōmaru lets the group know that he and Jaken are going to be gone for a few days on business, but that he would be leaving Rin and Ah-Un with them.

"Bye bye Sesshōmaru-sama! Jaken-sama! Rin will miss you!" Rin waves happily as she screams this to her lord and friend (although the little toad would never admit that he feels the same). She turns to Shippō who is sitting on Kagome's shoulder, "Shippō-chan, do you want to ride on Ah-Un with Rin?"

"Sure! Can I Momma?"

"Just be careful you two!" the two children nodded to her as they jumped on the extremely patient two-headed dragon. "And be nice to Ah-Un!" Said dragon turned both heads towards her with identical looks of gratitude in their eyes. Kagome laughed quietly to herself as the two children hollered in their excitement. She noticed that Kirara transformed into her battle ready state and stayed beside the dragon to keep them company and as added protection.

The adults walked along in silence. Even with all of the levity that has been surrounding them, none of them forgot their true goal. _Naraku, where are you you slimy spider._ Kagome mentally cursed the evil hanyō, wishing, not for the first time, that she could sense his part of the jewel so that all of this suspense would come to an end.

The two couples, Kikyō with Inu and Miroku with Sango (the latter who refuse to admit their feelings out loud though they already know how the other feels), talked quietly amongst themselves. Youko and Kuronue silently kept pace with their imouto, who was still deep in thought.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a chain scythe crashes into the ground in front of Kagome. With dread filling every part of her soul, she looks up to find the one person she didn't want to fight. _Kohaku…_ The she notices something, his eyes. Albeit they were filled with sorrow, they were clear of the haze she has come to associate with the control of a Shikon Shard. _I wonder…_ She holds his gaze with her own and notices him flick his eyes around as if someone is watching from the shadows. Her eyes widen with realization that someone _is_ watching. She mouthed "Kanna" to the young boy who with a relief filled gaze nodded slightly.

She turned to Youko while dodging the half-hearted shots thrown at her, "Youko can you make a dome of plants surround us with him inside of it?" He began to question her sanity when he noticed her determined eyes. Without a word he crouches down and places his hand flat upon the ground. A few moments later a leafy barrier separated them from any outside interference and Kagome noticed Inuyasha prepare to strike down the young teen. "Inuyasha, Sit! He isn't going to attack us, are you Kohaku?"

As soon as the question left her mouth, the young boy dropped his aggressive stance and bowed to her, "Thank you for noticing Kagome-sama." He then turns to his sister who has been frozen to her spot since he first arrived, "Hello, Sango-nee… (his head bows) I am so sorry for what I have done." The gang noticed tears falling to the ground below the depressed child. Sango throws herself at her brother with a whimper escaping her throat.

"Oh Kohaku, it wasn't your fault! It was _never your fault!_" Kagome allowed them a few moments of privacy before clearing her throat. Sango looks at her almost angrily before she sees the apology in her adopted sister's gaze.

"I'm sorry Sango-chan, but Naraku is watching using Kanna's mirror, that's why we had to put the barrier up in the first place, but we can't leave it up forever."

"Hai, she is right onee-sama. Even now I can feel his anger through the shard, he is trying to establish that he still has control over me. It won't take long now before he realizes the truth." Horror fills Sango's eyes. "That is why I wanted to ask Kagome-sama to remove the shard from my back."

"But Kohaku, that will-"

"Hai, I know. It will kill me. But onee-chan, I am already dead on the inside, don't you see? I killed out entire village, I can't live with myself anymore. I am not even supposed to be alive anyways, the shard is all that keeps me in this world. Please let me move on, I want to see our family again so that I can apologize to them… _please understand one-chan_,"A sob tore from the young boys throat. Sango held her brother close to her heart and they spent their last moment together with love filling their souls. Finally Kohaku pulls away, "Monk take care of my sister, otherwise I will haunt you." Miroku nods to the boy with sadness filling his eyes.

"I am sorry we never truly got a chance to know one another Kohaku-kun. Rest in peace, know hat I will do everything I can for your sister."

Kohaku nodded and turned to Sango, "I will miss you nee-chan… Be happy ok? I love you." Then he looked at Kikyō, "Thank you for all of your help from before Kikyō-sama. I will never forget you."

"Nor I you, young one."

"Tell Rin-chan that I'm sorry we couldn't play together again. And tell Sesshōmaru-sama 'thank you' for me as well, please Kagome-sama."

She nodded, "I will Kohaku-kun."

He smiled at them all and then turned fully to Kagome, already having taken of his shirt, "I am ready now."

Tears dripped down Kagome's face as she told him to hug his sister one last time. Understanding filled his gaze and he moved in front of the sobbing form of Sango, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. As Sango reciprocated the hug, Kagome quickly and painlessly removed the shard. Sango sobbed harder as her brother's body went limp in her arms. They stayed there for several minutes before they chose the tallest tree in the area as the gravesite of the brave young man whose life was among the many that Naraku cause to end early. They made sure to mark the tree so that eventually, Sango could retrieve the boy and bury it with the rest of her family and village.

That night, Silence and Sorrow surrounded the campsite absolutely. There were no jokes, no laughter, and very little sleep to go around. They all knew that tomorrow would be a better day, now that Sango no longer had to worry about what horror her brother was being subjected to. Although they would still feel the sorrow, they knew that they would all try to act normal, if not for themselves, then to honor the memory of the brave Kohaku, who willingly gave his life as opposed to being a puppet.

They would never forget him. Ever.

* * *

**Alright, so I tried to make the first half of this chapter more lighthearted because as you can see, the second half was down-right depressing (in my opinion anyways). Who was as thrown as I was when Baldok randomly hitched a ride on my story? It came out of left field for me! I was thnking of what I was going to write and BAM! Batboy possessed my hands and took over the story! Random, I know, but I am actually quite a random person.**

**We draw ever closer to the Final Battle of the Sengoku Jidai! WHO ELSE IS EXCITED? WOOOO! *ahem***

**So as I wrote this chapter I have been arguing with myself about whether or not Kuronue is going to live or not… what do you guys think? I don't really want votes just opinions, ya know?**

**So another chapter down and in by when I promised! Shouldn't be more than a couple days before I put up chapter four!**

**Reviews are always welcomed! As are cookies! Or ice cream! (you get the idea!)**

**Hope to hear from you! :P**

**~GG**


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